--- title: Over 2.4 Billion People Suffer From Untreated Tooth Decay description: Study: untreated tooth decay is a problem for over 2.4 billion people worldwide, with over 190 million new cases emerging each year. canonical: https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/ author: Sabrina Toppa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-05T07:32:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:15:07.747Z article:section: Health og:title: 2.4 Billion People Suffer From Untreated Tooth Decay og:description: Get out those toothbrushes. og:url: https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9beb1052cd8dab3f/69878234cd6848b61209a02c/141338597.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Dental check-up og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 2.4 Billion People Suffer From Untreated Tooth Decay twitter:description: Get out those toothbrushes. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9beb1052cd8dab3f/69878234cd6848b61209a02c/141338597.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # One-Third of the World's Population Suffers From Untreated Tooth Decay by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Mar 5, 2015 7:32 AM UTC  Echo—Cultura RF/Getty Images by [Sabrina Toppa](https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/) ## Sabrina Toppa Mar 5, 2015 7:32 AM UTC Untreated tooth decay is a problem for more than 2.4 billion people worldwide, with some 190 million new cases forecasted each year, [finds](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31714240) a new study in the _Journal of Dental Research_. Experts say this is a worryingly large number for a problem that is both well known and highly preventable. “It is alarming to see prevention and treatment of tooth decay has been neglected at this level,” says the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Wagner Marcenes. Scientists conducted a global survey of 378 studies looking at nearly 5 million people from 1990 to 2010\. The results showed that 2.4 billion people suffer from untreated tooth decay in their permanent teeth, with 621 million children facing untreated decay in their early, temporary teeth. Untreated tooth decay can engender cavities, infections, abscesses, oral pain and diseases. Ignored, it can impede a child’s growth and cause work absenteeism and unproductivity in adults. Dental decay is an effect of mouth acids dissolving the exterior teeth layers. Scientists impute dental decay to high consumption of sugar, cautioning the public that children are not the only offenders. “What is clear is that this is a major public health problem,” added global oral-health expert Professor David Williams of the Queen Mary University of London. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31714240)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/"},"headline":"One-Third of the World's Population Suffers From Untreated Tooth Decay","datePublished":"2015-03-05T07:32:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:15:07.747Z","description":"Untreated tooth decay can engender cavities, infections, abscesses, oral pain and diseases","url":"https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/","keywords":["Research","health","dentists"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9beb1052cd8dab3f/69878234cd6848b61209a02c/141338597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sabrina Toppa","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/sabrina-toppa/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9beb1052cd8dab3f/69878234cd6848b61209a02c/141338597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dental check-up","caption":"Dental check-up","creditText":"Echo—Cultura RF/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3732925/one-third-world-tooth-decay/","name":"One-Third of the World's Population Suffers From Untreated Tooth Decay"}}]}] ```